1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to composite laminates useful for decorative applications, and particularly to composites offering novel reflective effects that may be formed into synthetic sheet and yarn products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous products are known that offer various attractive, decorative effects when embodied in sheet and yarn form. In particular, composite yarn products are conventionally prepared in shapes ranging from ribbon strips to light-conductive fibers. Examples of such products are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,166,819 to Miller which prepares a two-ply ribbon strip by the adhesive bonding of two layers of plastic to each other, followed by the longitudinal slitting of the composite product. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,361,616 to Scharf discloses the preparation of a composite yarn by the disposition of strands of thread or strands of metalized material between two resinous sheets. U.S. Pat. No. 3,666,587 to Nagao discloses the preparation of a light-conducting fiber by the preparation of a sandwich of a polystyrene material between acrylic sheet materials. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,092 to Wasserman, discloses the preparation of a retroreflective fiber by the lamination of a supporting polyester film base to an elastomer film having retroreflective beads bonded thereto, and thereafter slitting the resulting laminate.
The reflective products presently available, particularly those products formed into yarn materials suffer from certain disadvantages, as outlined in the Wasserman patent discussed above. Thus, attempts to bond various reflective materials to resinous films are frequently unsuccessful, as the reflective material tends to delaminate or otherwise detach from the film when it is formed into a yarn product, due to the shear forces typically imposed upon the yarn during its formation and later use. The nature of the reflective materials as they are incorporated in the Wasserman product was found by the present inventor to offer further disadvantages in that the integrity of the resulting laminate product was short-lived. Thus, the particulate materials within the resin films tended to rupture the film notwithstanding the reenforcement offered by the polyester film, when yarn products were formed and spun. As a result, composite reflective yarn materials prepared with the Wasserman product were commercially unsuitable. Even in the instance where the reflective materials were in finely divided particulate form, delamination and other unacceptable surface discontinuities developed.
In my co-pending application Ser. No. 538,870, for "Product With Combined Fluorescent-Phosphorescent Appearance and Method" the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference and thus made a part hereof, a decorative composite article was proposed which exhibited a combination of phosphorescent and fluorescent visual characteristics by the application of a coating composition including a combined colorant component having both the phosphorescent and fluorescent colorants disposed therein. This particular composition offered the advantages of a unique combination of visual effects that were both independently light-emittiog as well as light reflective. It was found that the properties of this product were particularly useful in decorative applications, such as when a composite laminate was prepared as a yarn product, as both of the visual properties offered in combination a distinctive appearance that defied characterization as either phosphorescent or fluorescent in origin. The coating composition and the products prepared therewith have been found to be particularly well suited for a variety of decorative and security uses where the combined visual appearance is desirable.
Notwithstanding the above, the garment trade in particular, has long sought a material offering the reflectivity of the beaded products as exemplified by the Wasserman Patent, with a visual appearance of greater depth and distinctive character and corresponding attractiveness. As this need is believed to exist, the present invention has been developed in an effort to be responsive thereto.